WASA says sorry for 'dirty' water

By
Nikita Braxton-Benjamin
nikita.braxton@trinidadexpress.com

THE discoloured water flowing through the taps of some customers is as a result of the shutdown of the Point Lisas Desalination Plant for maintenance last Monday.

As part of the strategy to deal with the shutdown, the water supply from the Caroni and Navet Water Treatment Plants has been redistributed and also temporary water schedules to customers have been implemented, head of Corporate Communications at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Ellen Lewis stated in a release yesterday.

"As a result of scheduling, customers may experience instances of discolouration in supply, however, this is temporary and the Authority regrets the inconvenience in this regard," Lewis said.

She said the contingency plans which have been "working well" were also put in place to deal with the consequent loss of 30 million gallons a day from WASA's distribution system.

Lewis said hotlines are in operation and centres have been set up at WASA's head office in St Joseph and at its San Fernando office to respond to any problems and monitor the effectiveness of the temporary schedules.

"WASA has also been utilising its water trucking service that was ramped up to 83 trucks as another means of supplementing the shortfall in supply caused by the Desal shutdown. The trucks have been making deliveries to several schools and other institutions as well as domestic customers to minimise the shortfall in supply," the release said.